The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-09-09
ABOUT WASHING DAY.

ABOUT WASHING DAY.
Valuable Hints and Pertinent Suggess
| tions for Busy Housekeepers.
The drudgery of the whole week is
often comprised in the one word,
washing-day. Modern invention has
made priceless the clothes-wringer to
the wearied housekeeper; but there
[ has been no improvements which have
taken the place of the old time rub
bing-board. The zinc wash-board is
much better than the old time wooden
ones, but this is small matter. Sery-
ants who do most of the work are often
particularly obstinate in the matter Of
washing and have methods of their
own, which they cling to with martyr
like steadfastness. Sorting of the the
clothes for the washing should always
be done by one of the family, if there
is no hired housekeeper. All articles
which are stained with fruit should be
put by themselves, as these stains
which disappear nagically in boiling
water will be permanently set if wet In
| cold or luke-warm water. Coffee
stains must be removed with boiling
water and tea stains with cold water.
| Tt is best to soak coarse clothes over
night, but fine clothes are better left
| folded, till the laundress is ready to
wash them After the necessary
rubbing the clothes should be put in
the boiler and scalded thoroughly. No
soap OF washing machine will take
the place of this process. Many care
full housekeeper5 use homemade
washing fluid in the boiler, while
others add little melted soap in the
water Soda should not be used ex-
cept to scald up old wash-cloths,
busters and other coarse pieces; it is
too powerful an alkali to use in wash
ing fine muslin or linen. The clothes
that are removed from the boiler may
lie in tub we'll covered, and steam
for an hour or two, or they may be
rinsed at once in several tubs of clear
water and finally in blueing water.
Inexperienced servants often throw a
large quantity of clothes into the blue
inc water, which causes streaks of
blueing through them when the gar
ments are dry. Only few pieces, at
time, can be put in blueing. Clothes
should only be blue enough to give q
pearly whiteness to the fabric. Ser
4
wants are very liable to overdue their
clothes. Toremedy this some house
keepers use blueing for two weeks and
omit it for two weeks. All white
clothes should be dried outdoors in
The strongest sunlight; the freezing
cold of winter and the heat of the
summers sun each bleaches them. A
clothes-pin bag made of strong bed
ticking is much better than a basket,
it can be suspended around the waist
and is then at hand and it may be
washed and kept clean.
| Brown soaps usually contain rosin
and soda. They are good for washing
white clothes not containing alkali in
sufficient quantity to injure the fabric.
But they should not be used for colored
clothes or for fannels. Use good
white soap for this purpose. All col
ored cottons and linens should be
washed, rinsed and dried as quickly as
possible They should be dried in a
we!l-sladed place. Delicate lavender
and pale blue goods will retain their
color if dried rapidly before the fire in
the house, when single hours expos
ure to the summers sun would bleach
them. Old-fashioned ideas about
starching dresses have undergone q
change. Much less starch is used than
formerly; a great many dresses are
done up without any starch. The rule
| is simple; if the cotton. has dressing
in it when purchased it should be
starched, but no sitter than new goods;
| if the cotton is soft-fnished cambria,
Saline or bingham, no starch should be
used, or only a little gum arabic starch
in the ginghams. Colored dresses
which are combined with white or
trimmed with white embroidery should
be put in final rinsing water in which
| salt has been dissolved in about the
proportion of large tablespoonful to
a gallon of water. Ginghams in pat
terms of black or dark colors combined
with white must sometimes be treated
in this way to prevent the colors run
ming. Flannels shrink in washing be-
cause of rapid changes in the temper
allure of the water used. They should
be washed with white soap in water
near the temperature of the room. this
will be water that is cold to the touch
of the hand, but not ice-cold. After
washing the fannels carefully rinse
them in several waters of the same
temperature and blue them slightly.
Do not hang them outdoors in winter
to freeze but dry them on the clothes
horse before the fire. Do not hang
them IN the hot sun in summer, but in
some cool place.4where they will dry
rapidly. Take them down before they
are thoroughly dry and iron them.
Flannels which are all wool will not
shrink if treated in this way. No fan
mel should be washed or rinsed in the
same water used in washing cotton
goods. Y Tribune.
! Gentleman (on rear platform o
horse car)-sIt's too bad for that lady
to stand. She looks as though sh,
would drop. Why doesn't one of those
! fellows give her seat?" Man in cor
ner seat gets out. Gentleman ON thu
!. nlatform sims into It with alacrity